Anna Netrebko - Caro Nome - Rigoletto - YouTube Anna Netrebko - Caro Nome - Rigoletto Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Jul 10, 2009 Definitely not the best, but if you like it... Aria of Gilda from Rigoletto Giuseppe Verdi Verdi's Caro Nome Lyrics and Text Translation Col pensiero il mio desir a te ognora volerà, e pur l' ultimo sospir, caro nome, tuo sarà. Sweet name, you who made my heart throb for the first time, you must always remind me the pleasures of love! My desire will fly to you on the wings of thought and my last breath will be yours, my beloved. Translation by Guia K. Monti Rigoletto | The Opera 101 The Opera 101 Fill out the fields below to contact us!

Your name * Recordings About One of the most exciting and gritty operas, Rigoletto is not for the faint-hearted. The censors of the time had real issues with Rigoletto’s content and it’s not really hard to see why! Set in the grubby world of the Duke of Mantua, a man with few morals and a great deal of power, the action plumbs the depths of nastiness and the bad guy doesn't get a comeuppance. There’s no avoiding the opera’s grim finale either, horrifically sad with only limited redemption. Rigoletto at the Royal Opera House Rigoletto is the first of Verdi’s middle period operas and marks a shift towards coherent musical tapestries as opposed to the typical Italian aria format (though Verdi by no means leaves the form behind). There are fewer applause breaks than in his earlier works, the drama seemingly rushing headlong towards its conclusion. It's an opera with extremes but also a sense of moral ambiguity. The grim palace of the Duke is contrasted by the tranquility and isolation of Gilda, Rigoletto’s daughter.

Gilda gets some of the most divine music, particularly in the Act I aria Caro nome, in English Sweet name. Verdi also cleverly gives the despicable Duke some devilishly charming music, you’ll probably recognise La donna è mobile, Woman is flighty. Rigoletto himself gets no flashy arias, his music is punchier and more declamatory, an uneasy mix of both worlds. With a fantastic balance between the grand and the intimate, from plush palace to rundown inn, Rigoletto is an opera that has it all. Characters A ruthless assassin, albeit one with some sense of honour. Synopsis Act I - Running Time: 65 mins A palace ball is in full flow. The Duke of Mantua sings of his lascivious life. Amongst his many potential future conquests he is eyeing up an unknown girl he caught sight of in church. Rigoletto mocks all and sundry, a court jester who does this job in a nasty, deeply unpopular manner. The various nobles gossip about Rigoletto’s “lover”, most don’t believe she exists but they resolve somehow to have their revenge on him.

Count Monterone enters angry, decrying that the Duke has had his way with Monterone’s daughter. Rigoletto ridicules him and the Duke orders him to be arrested. As he is dragged out Monterone calls down a curse on Rigoletto and the Duke. Rigoletto is cursed, Metropolitan Opera Sparafucile and Rigoletto, Metropolitan Opera Rigoletto trudges home worried by the curse. He comes across Sparafucile, the local assassin (every town should have one!), skulking in the darkness. Sparafucile offers his services but Rigoletto rejects his offer saying he has no need of them. Rigoletto enters his home where he is greeted by his daughter, Gilda. She is the figure that the noblemen suspect to be his lover. Rigoletto has kept Gilda secret from the Duke and Gilda does not know about Rigoletto’s job at the palace. The only place Gilda is allowed to go is church and she has recently fallen in love with a young man. As soon as Rigoletto leaves that man promptly appears and would you believe it... it’s the Duke!

He bribes Giovanna into letting him in and in the ensuing love song lies to Gilda, telling her that he is a poor student. He departs. Outside the house, the noblemen mass to abduct Gilda, who they still think is Rigoletto’s lover. Somehow in the darkness they trick Rigoletto into believing they are kidnapping a woman from the house adjacent to his and in the ensuing action Rigoletto actually assists in the kidnapping of his daughter. The noblemen gather outside Rigoletto's house, San Francisco Opera He realizes what has happened and is utterly distraught. He recalls the curse as the curtain descends. Act II - Running Time: 35 mins We’re back in the palace. The Duke is missing his Gilda but he is soon excited to hear that the noblemen have just kidnapped her. She is in his bedroom which is like Christmas come early for the Duke. He dashes off as Rigoletto enters trying to appear like nothing is wrong. He tries to find out what has happened to Gilda without giving much away but soon breaks down and desperately demands her return. Predictably he doesn’t have much luck and the noblemen forcibly prevent him entering the Duke’s chambers.

Rigoletto (Zeljko Lucic) demands to see his daughter © Matthias Creutziger/Semperoper Dresden Gilda emerges dishevelled. As she describes what has happened to her, Rigoletto gets very angry indeed. Monterone happens to be being dragged through and curses the fact that his curse has not come to pass. Rigoletto shouts after him that he is wrong and swears vengeance on the Duke, though Gilda continues to defend the Duke as she is still in love... Act III - Running Time: 35 mins We find ourselves at the home of Sparafucile (the assassin from Act I). While we have been away supping interval drinks, Rigoletto has arranged for Sparafucile to kill the Duke and present the body in a sack for Rigoletto to dispose of himself in the river. Sparafucile has used his sister, Maddalena to lure the Duke to his home. At the same time Rigoletto has brought Gilda to the house to try to convince her of the Duke’s infidelity.

The Duke sings the famous aria, “La donna e mobile”, and despite overhearing everything Gilda remains in love and Rigoletto sends her away to prepare (by dressing as a boy!) for their escape to Verona. Placido Domingo sings "La Donna e Mobile" The Duke goes to bed. Gilda comes creeping back to overhear Maddalena trying to convince Sparafucile not to kill the Duke. Sparafucile agrees to kill anyone who comes to his door before midnight, if no one comes the Duke will die. Gilda, still deeply in love, resolves to sacrifice herself. She knocks on the door and is stabbed by Sparafucile. Rigoletto returns and is given the sack by Sparafucile. He gloats over what he believes is the body of the Duke. The Duke, still safely alive, is overheard singing. In a panic Rigoletto cuts open the sack to find his beloved daughter inside! With her dying breath Gilda begs for forgiveness. Monterone’s curse has come to pass!

Rigoletto (Zeljko Lucic) mourns the death of Gilda (Diana Damrau) © Ken Howard/Met Opera Major Arias Tutte le feste al tempio Gilda History Commissioned in April 1850 by La Fenice in Venice, Verdi set about finding a suitable subject for his new opera. He chose as his Librettist Francesco Marie Piave with whom he had worked on five previous operas and after a serious search, Verdi decided upon Victor Hugo’s Le Roi s’amuse, a subject that was always likely to cause problems with the censors (the play itself had a checkered history with censorship). Sure enough, Verdi was asked to submit the libretto to the Austrian censors (Venice a constituent state of Austria at the time) who took exception to the portrayal of an evil monarch and to compound this an evil character whose evildoing is not punished at the opera’s conclusion.

Italy in 1843, a divided nation with Austria controlling the north Verdi had no intention of making substantial changes and for a time it looked like Rigoletto, or “La Maledizione” (The Curse) as it then was, would never reach the stage. This wasn’t really good for anyone, including La Fenice who, having paid Verdi, needed an opera. As luck would have it, one of the Austrian censors, Luigi Martello, was a Verdi fan and it was he who suggested shifting the action from the French King to a fictional Mantuan Duke. It was at this stage that Rigoletto gained its name with the hunchback jester Triboulet becoming Rigoletto, a name taken from the title of another Hugo play, Rigoletti, ou Le dernier des fous. Rigolo meaning funny in French! Verdi was sufficiently happy with the results that he set to work, writing the bulk of the score in 40 days. The premiere was a huge success and Rigoletto has never been far from the operatic stage since.

Costume designs for the original production in Venice 1851 Fun Facts Le Roi s'amuse Victor Hugo’s Le Roi s’amuse, premiered in November 1832, was on the surface simply historical fiction about Francis I. He was the king of France for most of the first half of the 16th Century, now long dead. The play was taken by the French government however, (quite accurately) as little more than a thinly veiled attack on the current King: Louis Philippe. Louis had come to the throne only two years earlier and after many years of political unrest the Government was extremely twitchy about perceived criticism. The play was swiftly banned. This particularly offended Hugo as censorship had supposedly been eliminated only two years previous. In the end the censorship didn’t work. The printed text became wildly popular. By the time Verdi would come to write Rigoletto, Louis had been deposed and died though Hugo was in no better state having been exiled from France by Napoleon III. Which Duke? Vincenzo Gonzaga Though Rigoletto was originally based on French kings, Verdi was not without an historical model for dirty Mantuan Dukes.

There are a few possible candidates almost all of whom belong to the Gonzaga family. Most likely is Vincenzo Gonzaga who was Duke of Mantua from 1562-1612. His father was a frugal, puritanical hunchback but Vincenzo took a different path, spending vast sums of money on wine, horses and music. His patronage of Claudio Monteverdi should endear him to any opera lover but his handling of the Mantuan court make comparisons with Rigoletto’s Duke not unfair. La Donne e Mobile Verdi was convinced he had written a modern, dramatic work (as we’d probably now all agree) and was not at all impressed when the husband of Teresa De Giuli-Borsi, who was to sing Gilda, asked for an extra aria to be inserted for her. Verdi proclaimed “My intention was that Rigoletto should be one long series of duets, without arias and finales”. That said, he wasn’t blind to how Rigoletto might well be received and was acutely aware that he had written something of a humdinger in the form of “La Donne e Mobile”.

The legend goes, that to avoid the tune becoming common property to all of Venice, he swore his singers to secrecy and wouldn’t provide the music for the song until mere days before the first performance. Francesco Piave Francesco Piave Librettists have never really gotten their due in the operatic world but Francesco Maria Piave was a significant part of Verdi’s career. He wrote 10 libretti for Verdi starting with Ernani and including many of his greatest works including La Traviata and Simon Boccanegra. Amongst his many skills were his abilities as a negotiator, a talent he was repeatedly forced to use with both Verdi and the various European censors. Verdi could be harsh with him, he gave him hell when the first version of Rigoletto was blocked, but they formed a strong bond over many years and after Piave suffered a stroke in 1867 Verdi supported his wife and daughter as well as paying for his funeral when he died in 1876.

Popularity English Libretto from the Royal Opera's premiere production Rigoletto was astonishingly popular from its premiere in 1851, reaching London by 1853 (The English libretto sold at Covent Garden on the right) and New York by 1855. Censorship continued to be a problem albeit a minor one especially in France where Hugo was immensely displeased that his original play was still banned whilst Verdi’s work could, and regularly was, performed. Popularity-wise not much has changed over the intervening 150 years and Rigoletto was the 9th most performed opera in the world from 2007/2008 to 2011/2012. In Brief Date of premiere March 11, 1851 Number of Acts 3 The Aria Database - Database Search Results Database Search Results Voice Part-All Language-All "Here rests the honourable and virtuous youth Guntram, singer of love songs who by the symphonic orchestra of his own father was cruelly stricken down. Rest in Peace." -Richard Strauss 8 arias found matching your criteria. No.

1-8 displayed in alphabetical order by opera. Search : In these results- Voice Part : soprano Fach : lyric soprano Setting : The house of Rigoletto Range : B4 to C#/Db6. Tessitura : F#/Gb4 to A6 Synopsis : After the Duke in the guise of a poor student has seduced her, Gilda sings of her new-found love. Where to Find It : Score of opera and aria alone - Classical Vocal Reprints , 1-800-298-7474. Catalog number for aria : #2565, for opera : #50338 (Ricordi). Buy score online at Sheet Music Plus . Tutte le feste al tempio - part of a duet from Act II of the Italian opera, Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi Voice Part : soprano Fach : lyric soprano Setting : A room in the Duke's palace Range : E4 to A6. Tessitura : G4 to F5 Synopsis : Gilda tells her father of her love for the Duke in his guise as a student.

Sound file : none Where to Find It : Score of opera - Classical Vocal Reprints , 1-800-298-7474. Catalog #50338 (Ricordi). Buy score online at Sheet Music Plus . Questa o quella - Ballata Voice Part : tenor Fach : lyric tenor Setting : A hall in the palace of the Duke of Mantua Range : D#/Eb3 to A#/Bb5. Tessitura : G#/Ab3 to G#/Ab4 Synopsis : After he discloses his wish to woo the Countess Ceprano, the Duke is warned that the Countess has a jealous husband. The Duke replies that he will go after any woman that he wants to and that he won't be scared off by any jealous husbands. The 34 bar prelude starts with the curse theme, the central theme of the opera. ACT I Scene 1: A grand room in the palace of the Duke of Mantua. In contrast to the somber prelude, dance music can be heard from offstage as gentlemen and their wives circulate though the room.

The Duke tells the courtier Borsa about the woman he has seen in church every Sunday for the last three months. He is impatient to bring his seduction of her to a head, and has discovered she lives in a remote alley where a mysterious man visits her every evening. Among the ladies at the ball is the Countess Ceprano. They comment on her beauty and the Duke decides he will make-do with her for now. Borsa warns the Duke that Count Ceprano may overhear them, but the Duke does not care, one woman is just like another and fidelity is detestable (Questa o quella  This one or that). He flirts with the Countess and leads her off stage. Her jealous husband is following as Rigoletto enters and implies Ceprano has horns on his head. He also comments on the doings at court and on the Duke's seductions. An excited Marullo enters; he has discovered that Rigoletto has a mistress! The Duke and Rigoletto discuss how they can get rid of Ceprano in order to leave the field clear for the Duke. Rigoletto makes several sarcastic and boorish suggestions which an angry Ceprano overhears.

The jester's master reproves Rigoletto for always going too far with a joke. Rigoletto just laughs; he knows he is protected from the hatred of the courtiers whom he has antagonized by the Duke. These courtiers decide to take revenge on the jester; they will meet that night to formulate a plan. Suddenly Count Monterone burst in. His daughter has been ravished by the Duke and he swears revenge. The jester mocks him with a mixture of buffoonery and evil. His lurching music despicts his own hunchbacked deformity (Voi congiuraste  You conspired). When the distraught father curses both the jester and the Duke with a father's curse, the worst kind, Rigoletto recoils in horror. Scene 2: An alley with Rigoletto's house on one side and the Cepranos' on the other. A shaken Rigoletto enters, still muttering about the curse. He is accosted by Sparafucile an hired assassin for hire (his name is literally Shoot Gun), who offers his services to Rigoletto.

He can have his sister lure any victim to his inn and dispose of him there. If Rigoletto has no use for his services just then, he can be found every evening at the same place. After Sparafucile leaves, Rigoletto broods that they are the same: both of them kill, Rigoletto with his tongue and Sparafucile with his dagger (Pari siamo  We are the same). He blames his own corruption on nature which made him a hunchback and on the sneering courtiers with whom he serves. Still thinking about the curse, he enters his house to be greeted by his loving daughter, Gilda. She begs him to tell her about her family; she doesn't even know her father's name! He changes the subject. Has she been out? Only to mass. He finally says her angelic mother felt pity for his sorrows and loved him in spite of his hunchback. She begs to be allowed to see the city and is asked again if she ever goes out. She lies and says no. Terrified that the courtiers who hate him will discovered her existence, Rigoletto begs her to keep her promise and stay home.

He summons Giovanna, her companion, and asks if she locks the door every night, admonishing her to keep his daughter safe (Veglia, o donna  Watch woman). Thinking he hears something, he goes out to the street giving the disguised Duke a chance to sneak in and hide. (He slips Giovanna a purse to keep her silent.) To his surprise, he recognizes Rigoletto and realizes it is the jester's daughter upon whom he has designs. When Rigoletto leaves, Gilda regrets that she has lied to her father by not telling him of the handsome young man who has followed her to church. Although he seems noble, she would prefer a poor man (Signor nè principe  Neither nobleman nor prince). The duke emerges from hiding and ardently declares his love (È il sol dell'anima [Love] is the sunshine of the soul). He tells her he is a poor student named Gualtier Maldè. As she confesses her love for him, the sound of the conspirators in the street makes her beg him to leave. They sing a long and fond farewell (Addio, addio).

Left alone, Gilda rapturously thinks of her suitor's name (Caro nome  Dear name). She can be seen by the masked conspirators on the street who admire her beauty. Suddenly Rigoletto appears, called back by new fears and still thinking of the curse. Identifying themselves, the courtiers approach him and ask him to help abduct the Countess Ceprano. He agrees and asks for a mask of his own. While putting it on they manage to blindfold him. He is told to hold the ladder while they do the abduction, and they gloat that they will now have their revenge on their torturer. As they drag the terrified Gilda away, she drops her scarf. Wondering what is happening, Rigoletto discovers the blindfold and tears it off to find the open door and Gilda's scarf. He utters an anguished La maledizione!  The curse! ACT II: A room in the palace. The Duke has been to Rigoletto's house and found the door open and Gilda gone.

He is distressed, mostly for his loss (Ella mi fu rapita  She was stolen from me), but then thinks of her tears (Parmi veder le lagrime  I seem to see those tears). When the courtiers come to tell him of the abduction, he realizes the victim is Gilda and rushes off to 'comfort' her (Possente amor  Powerful love). Rigoletto appears, feigning nonchalance and still playing the fool, but furtively looking around for signs of Gilda (This is the first time, the courtiers realize Gilda is the jester's daughter rather than his mistress.) Realizing that the abducted woman is his daughter and that she is with the Duke, the jester first asks for her return. When this is of no avail, he falls to weeping and begs to know where she is. Finally, he abjectly throws off the fool and begs them to restore his daughter to him (Cortigiani  Courtiers). Gilda rushes into the room and throws herself into her father's arms. She confesses all to him (Tutte le feste al tempio  Every Sunday in church).

He comforts her (Piangi fanciulla  Weep child). Monterone is led across the stage on his way to prison, distraught because, in spite of his curse, the Duke remains unscathed. Rigoletto swears that he will seek vengeance for them both (Sì vendetta). Gilda begs him to forgive the Duke; she still loves him. ACT III: Sparafucile's inn. We are able to see both the inside of the inn and the deserted riverbank outside. The people in the respective locations cannot hear or see each other. Sparafucile is inside. Rigoletto has brought Gilda, who still believes the Duke loves her, to observe his perfidy for herself. The Duke appears inside, demands a room and some wine and then sings the famous aria La donna è mobile (Woman is fickle). When he returns with the wine, Sparafucile knocks on the ceiling to call his sister. In a quartet, a crestfallen Gilda watches the Duke flirt with Maddalena, and Rigoletto swears revenge (Bella figlia dell'amore  Beautiful daughter of love).

Rigoletto, thinking Gilda has finally been convinced of the Duke's true nature, tells her to go to safety in Verona where he will meet her soon. Sparafucile comes out and Rigoletto gives him half of the agreed upon sum. He will return at midnight to collect the body and pay the rest. Maddalena tries to save the Duke by telling him to go but a terrible storm is approaching, and he asks for a room for the night. His sister begs her Sparafucile to spare the handsome young man, but he refuses. She tries to persuade him to kill the jester instead and keep all of the money, but the assassin has pride in his profession. He would never betray a paying customer. Gilda appears outside, dressed as a man, and overhears them agreeing to kill the first person who appears before midnight. Determined to save the Duke's life at the expense of her own life, she knocks at the door. The door is opened, there is a cry, and then silence. Rigoletto returns, gleefully anticipating his revenge. Midnight strikes and Sparafucile comes out with a sack supposedly holding the Duke's body.

The jester is about to drag it to the river when he hears the Duke's La donna è mobile. Horrified he opens the sack to find his dying daughter. She begs his forgiveness and says she will pray for him in heaven (Lassù in cielo  There up in heaven). Instead of the customary concerted finale, Verdi ends the opera as Gilda dies and a heartbroken Rigoletto once more cries, La maledizione! FOOTNOTES ON THE MUSICAL NUMBERS The music of Rigoletto shows a decided shift from operatic conventions up until that time. Until then, with the noted exception of Wagner, most operas used double arias of cavatina and cabaletta, preceded by a speech-like recitative. A clear distinction was made between the aria and the recitative, and each act ended with a concerted finale. On the other hand, while Rigoletto consists of separate numbers, it is not always easy to tell where one ends and another begins. He himself said, "I conceived Rigoletto without arias, without finales, as an unbroken chain of duets, because I was convinced that was most suitable".

Only the shallow Duke has traditional, melodic, show-stopping arias. Instead, the basic unit of the opera is the short scene, in which recitative,arioso and aria blend into each other, heightening the continuity and dramatic effect. In addition, the orchestra often has a melody of its own which is not reflected by the singers. The short preludeopens with the baleful Curse theme repeated a number of times. Only 34 bars long, it leads into the rather banal music which depicts the frivolity and superficiality of the Duke's court. Dance music, created by a banda, is heard from the offstage ballroom during most of the first scene. Questa o quella: The lively, regular beat, simple tune and strophic form reflect the lack of depth in the Duke's personality and the traditional nature of the court. The statement that one woman is like another and that fidelity is detestable, demonstrates the amoral nature of the Duke and the corruption of his court.

The scene between Rigoletto and Sparafucile and the following Pari siamo are examples of arioso (short for recitativo arioso) sung with a speech-like metre but more melodic than standard recitative. The somber subject matter is accompanied by mournful strings and woodwinds. In this aria, we begin to see the man behind the clown. Signor nè principe shows us the child-like quality of Gilda's personality. È il sol dell'anima is a standard love duet with repeats. However, the audience is aware of the Duke's duplicity, and this adds a certain piquancy to the conventional scene. Caro nome has only one movement. Although it has some coloratura, Verdi did not want it to showcase agility. It must depict Gilda's essential girlishness, self-conscious and eager, but it needs a strong voice, not that of a soubrette. Parmi veder le lagrime is the only aria in which the Duke shows any depth. Yet he is not sorry for Gilda but for himself; his new plaything has been stolen from him. He almost convinces himself that he is in love, but his following actions disprove this.

The tessiturais very high and is much more demanding of the tenor than the Duke's other arias. It is one of the few standard two-part arias. After the recitative and slower cavatina, there is an interruption for the courtiers to announce their abduction. The faster cabaletta, Possente amor me chiama, follows. There is nothing comparable to this scene in Hugo. Cortigiani: At his entrance Rigoletto still plays the fool with his half-hearted La ra, la ra, la ra as he searches for Gilda. When he realizes she is with the Duke, he begins his great aria, Cortigiani. It is in three sections, each in a different key, each section revealing a change in Rigoletto's state of mind. At the end he must plea for pity from the very men whom he has treated so outrageously, a truly crushing humiliation. He is completely shattered. This is one of the great tests of a baritone's vocal and acting skills. In La donna è mobile, the best-known aria from the opera, the Duke states his credo.

All women lie; a man who trusts them will have his heart broken; yet no man can be happy without a woman. It is what is known as a canzone, a song. Even in a spoken play it would have been sung. Verdi knew this aria would be popular, so he hid it from the entire cast, even the tenor, until the dress rehearsal, and then enjoined all to secrecy. He was correct. The audience demanded an encore and afterward could be heard singing it in the streets. The words were not original with Verdi. Boccaccio in Filostrato wrote: "Giovane donna è mobile...sempre come foglia al vento". ("A young woman is fickle, always like a leaf in the wind.") Bella figlia dell'amore is one of the wonders of the opera. Hugo said Verdi improved on the play. Four people are singing together, expressing their own thoughts and emotions, each with a different melodic line, yet singing in harmony. Such an effect is impossible in a spoken play. Lassù in cielo: Verdi wanted it to sound 'vaporous', a suitable sound for the dying Gilda.

Italian Opera: Rigoletto - Caro nome Italian Opera Rigoletto - Caro nome Rigoletto - Caro nome Giuseppe Verdi was the famous author of “Caro Nome” (Dearest Name) that is a representative opera in Italian culture. Verdi was born in Busseto- Italy in 1813; he was a romantic composer of opera in the 19th century. Giuseppe Verdi has rightfully enjoyed a high standing among opera lovers that continues to grow as productions and recording of his works. Rigoletto is an opera that consist of three acts, its music was composed by Giuseppe Verdi and “Caro nome” is one of the main songs. This opera is about strong feeling such as love, hate, revenge and deception. Rigoletto is the star of this opera; he is a jester in the Duchy of Mantua’s court. Opera Music in Italian caro nome...dal Rigoletto di Giuseppe Verdi - YouTube caro nome...dal Rigoletto di Giuseppe Verdi Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content.

Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jul 29, 2015 Jessica Nuccio nel ruolo di Gilda, dallo Sferisferio di Macerata, 25 luglio 2015 Category A Profile of Rigoletto - The Origin of Verdi's Opera A Profile of Rigoletto A Profile of Rigoletto The Origin of Verdi's Opera Verdi's opera, Rigoletto, was first performed on March 11, 1851. Since then, it has become one of the world's most performed operas. Here, singer Jonathan Summers performs as Rigoletto at the dress rehearsal for Elijah Moshinsky's production of Verdi's opera Rigoletto at the Sydney Opera House on August 30, 2006. Photo by Patrick Riviere/Getty Images Updated November 15, 2015. Rigoletto Trivia Giuseppe Verdi wrote the opera, Rigoletto, between 1850 and 1851. It was the composer's 17th opera.

View a complete listing of Verdi's operas . Verdi was very concerned about his opera being copied. He deliberately kept a part of his score hidden in his home and only presented it to the opera's cast a few weeks prior to opening night. Verdi even demanded that the singers and musicians only sing or practice the music while in rehearsal; going so far as making each one of them swear to never hum or whistle their parts outside of the music hall. Francesco Maria Piave, an Italian librettist born in 1810, wrote the libretto for Rigoletto. Piave also wrote the libretto for 9 other Verdi operas, including La Traviata in 1853. He was a brilliant stage manager and met Verdi while working at Venice's La Fenice theatre. Rigoletto was first performed in March 11, 1851 in Venice's La Fenice theatre. The Origin of Verdi's Rigoletto In 1850, Giuseppe Verdi, already famous for his operas Ernani and Macbeth , was commissioned by Venice's La Fenice theatre to compose a new opera.

continue reading below our video 5 Classic Novels Everyone Should Read Given his past successes, Verdi was given much more artistic freedom than composers would otherwise receive. At first, Verdi turned to Alexandre Dumas' play, Kean, and even had his librettist Frencesco Maria Piave study it, but decided the play was not dramatic enough. Instead, Verdi derived Rigoletto from the play Le Roi s’amuse by Victor Hugo; its grandiose plot and characters reverberated deep within his soul. The problem was that the play was already highly controversial, and was even banned from performance in France. It was also censored by Austria which controlled most of Northern Italy at the time. Despite the risks, both Verdi and Piave continued working on their opera. Rumors spread that Austria was going to censor the opera, so Verdi and Piave planned defensive strategies while assuring the theatre that there wouldn't be any problems with the opera. The opera was first given the unofficial title of "The Curse" when it was presented to Austrian censors in December 1850. It was unapologetically denied production.

Piave quickly went back to work on the libretto, revising as much as he could in order to pass censorship, but Verdi was insistent upon having the entire opera debated line by line by the censors and only changing what was absolutely necessary. Thanks in part to the secretary of La Fenice, Guglielmo Brenna, who presented letters and correspondence to the censors about how diligently Verdi and Piave were trying to rework their opera, the Austrians agreed to let the opera be performed as long as a few key changes were made. Instead of taking place in France's royal court, the opera would take place in a duchy of France or Italy. The names of the characters were also changed so that there no parallels could be drawn to the members of French royalty. The jester's name was changed from Triboulet to Rigoletto, which was derived from Rigoletti, ou Le dernier des fous, a parody of Hugo's play. Finally, the opera was finished just one month prior to its scheduled debut.

Read the synopsis of Verdi's Rigoletto Rigoletto was first performed on March 11, 1851, at La Fenice, and presented alongside a performance of Giacomo Panizza's ballet, Faust. The performance was sold out and a complete success. With Verdi's extreme point of keeping his score shrouded in secrecy, one of the opera's most memorable scenes and arias " La donne e mobile " (which was kept secret from the cast until hours before the performance) was especially well received. The following performances were just as successful as the first, and the opera garnered the attention of opera houses in countries all across Europe. Today, over 150 years later, the opera is one of the world's top ten most performed operas . You'd be hard pressed to find an opera company without Rigoletto in the repertoire. Rigoletto | opera by Verdi | Britannica.com opera by Verdi Giuseppe Verdi Rigoletto, opera in three acts by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave ) that premiered at La Fenice opera house in Venice on March 11, 1851.

Based closely on the controversial 1832 play Le Roi s’amuse ( The King Amuses Himself; also performed in English as The King’s Fool) by Victor Hugo , Verdi’s opera was nearly kept off the stage by censors. With Rigoletto, Verdi reached a new level in his career; his next two operas, Il trovatore and La traviata , exhibit comparable artistry. Each of the three remains a staple of the operatic repertoire . The opera’s best-known aria is “ La donna è mobile, ” in which the womanizing Duke of Mantua muses upon the fickleness of women. Background and context Verdi had agreed in 1850 to write an opera for La Fenice in Venice, where Piave, one of his favourite librettists, was the resident poet. The composer was eager to adapt Hugo’s Le Roi s’amuse, which he declared “the greatest subject and perhaps the greatest drama of modern times.” Verdi also said that the title character, called Tribolet in the play, was “worthy of Shakespeare .” The composer, librettist, and theatre management were aware that getting the libretto through the censorship process could be a challenge.

The play had premiered in 1832 but was banned after only one performance when the French government, horrified by its disrespectful portrayal of a monarch, declared it immoral. Giuseppe Verdi. © Juulijs/Fotolia Northern Italy was at the time controlled by the Austrian Empire. (See Italy: The Vienna settlement .) If Verdi wished to stage an opera in Milan or Venice, two cities central to his career, he needed permission from both Austrian and local authorities. Very early in their work on the libretto, under the title La maledizione (“The Curse”), Verdi and Piave began revising the story so that they would avoid problems with the censors. They changed the lecherous and debauched king to a duke, transposed the setting to Italy , and made adjustments to decrease some of the more shocking aspects of the violent story. As Verdi had wished, however, the duke’s antagonist remained a cruel hunchbacked jester. They had not expected to have problems with the censors. Yet back-and-forth demands and responses, first from the Austrian censor and next from the local authorities, continued almost until the opera opened.

Under its final title, Rigoletto, the premiere was well received. Two years later Verdi insisted that the opera had “the best, the most effective subject I have so far set to music.” Similar Topics Star Wars Rigoletto is an acknowledged masterpiece that demonstrates Verdi’s complete grasp of his musical materials. The action proceeds almost continuously, so the audience rarely perceives artificial breaks for conventional arias. The orchestra conveys moods and unspoken emotion , perhaps most notably in the storm music of the final act. Even minor characters are delineated musically—for example, through distinctive rhythmic , melodic , or harmonic patterns. The quartet “ Bella figlia dell’ amore, ” is a marvel of simultaneous characterization, beautifully integrated into the larger context . In fact, upon seeing Rigoletto in Paris , Victor Hugo himself wrote about the quartet: If I could only make four characters in my plays speak at the same time, and have the audience grasp the words and the sentiments , I would obtain the very same effect.

The Duke of Mantua ( tenor ) Rigoletto, the Duke’s jester ( baritone ) Gilda, Rigoletto’s daughter ( soprano ) Sparafucile, hired assassin ( bass ) Maddalena, Sparafucile’s sister ( mezzo-soprano ) Count Ceprano, a nobleman (bass) Countess Ceprano, Ceprano’s wife (soprano or mezzo-soprano) Count Monterone, an elderly nobleman (baritone) Borsa, a courtier (tenor) Giovanna, Gilda’s nurse (soprano or mezzo-soprano) Courtiers, nobles, pages, servants Rigoletto is set in Mantua, Italy, in the 16th century. Act I Scene 1. The Duke of Mantua’s palace. At a splendid ball in his palace, the Duke of Mantua boasts to his retainer, Borsa, of his plan to finish his conquest of a young woman who has been at church every Sunday for three months. He has discovered where she lives, and every night he sees a mysterious man enter her house. The Duke has not revealed his identity to the woman.

Borsa, meanwhile, admires the ladies at the ball, and the Duke is particularly taken with the wife of Count Ceprano. Borsa warns that if Ceprano were to find out, he might tell the young woman. But the Duke does not care; all women are the same to him (“ Questa o quella ”). As Countess Ceprano passes by, the Duke flirts with her and escorts her out of the room. Rigoletto, the Duke’s hunchbacked jester, mocks the sullen Count Ceprano, who follows them out in a huff. Rigoletto joins them, laughing. Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez as the Duke of Mantua in … Karel Navarro/AP Cheetahs Face Extinction Risk Marullo, another of the Duke’s retainers, comes in with big news: Rigoletto has a mistress! The courtiers suppress their laughter as Rigoletto arrives with the Duke, who is whispering to the jester that Ceprano is a pest and his wife an angel.

Rigoletto advises the Duke, in a voice loud enough for the Count to hear, to carry the Countess off and imprison or execute her husband. Ceprano is enraged. The Duke warns Rigoletto that he has gone too far, but Rigoletto does not care. The courtiers and ladies enjoy the scene immensely. The merriment is interrupted by the sudden entrance of Count Monterone, who threatens the Duke. Rigoletto mocks him for complaining that the Duke has seduced his daughter. Outraged, Monterone swears vengeance . The Duke orders his arrest. As he is led away, Monterone places a curse upon the Duke and Rigoletto for laughing at a father’s grief. Rigoletto is visibly shaken. Scene 2. An alley outside Rigoletto’s house. Rigoletto is still upset by Monterone’s curse. A strange man, the sinister Sparafucile, accosts him. He reveals his sword and offers to free Rigoletto from the man who cursed him. The killer’s attractive sister, Maddalena, will lure the victim to their house, where Sparafucile will quietly execute him.

Rigoletto declines the offer, and Sparafucile says that he can be found in the alley every night. After dismissing him, Rigoletto reflects that they are alike: both destroy others—Rigoletto with his wit and acerbic tongue, Sparafucile with his sword (“ Pari siamo ”). He reflects again on Monterone’s curse and rails at Nature for making him deformed and wicked, with no choice but to be a buffoon and no solace but in mocking the Duke’s courtiers. Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest Rigoletto shakes off his fears and enters the courtyard of his house, where Gilda, his young daughter, throws herself into his arms. Noticing that her father is troubled, she begs him to tell her what is wrong. Gilda, not knowing her own history, wants him to tell her who he really is and who her mother was. Rigoletto, sighing, describes his lost love, a woman who loved him despite his deformity and poverty. Sadly, she died, leaving Gilda to console him. He will not tell her anything else, only that she is his whole life.

Gilda accepts his reticence and asks permission to go out into the city, which she has yet to explore. Rigoletto adamantly refuses and pointedly asks if she has already gone out. She says no, and he warns her to be careful. Secretly, he fears that the courtiers will find Gilda and dishonour her. He calls for her nurse, Giovanna, and asks whether anyone has been to the house. She says no, and Rigoletto urges her to keep a close watch on Gilda. His daughter proceeds to comfort him with the image of her mother watching over them from heaven . Rigoletto hears something outside and goes to investigate. The Duke, disguised in humble clothes, slips into the courtyard and hides behind a tree, silencing Giovanna by throwing her a money purse. Rigoletto returns, asking Gilda if anyone has ever followed her to church; she says no. He orders Giovanna never to open the door to anyone, especially the Duke. The Duke, in his hiding place, is stunned to discover that the woman he desires is Rigoletto’s daughter. Father and daughter embrace, and Rigoletto leaves.

Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies Gilda is stricken by remorse, for she failed to tell her father about the young man who has followed her to church. When Giovanna suggests that he might be a great gentleman, Gilda replies that she would prefer that he be poor; she confesses that in her fantasies she tells him that she loves him. The Duke emerges from hiding and throws himself at Gilda’s feet, repeating that he loves her. He motions for Giovanna to leave. Gilda, frightened, calls for her nurse, but the Duke presses his suit. She asks him to leave, but his flowery words of love have captured her. She admits that she loves him and asks his name. (Meanwhile, outside, Borsa and Ceprano have found the home of the despised Rigoletto.) The Duke tells Gilda that he is a poor student named Gualtier Maldé. Giovanna comes in to say that she has heard footsteps outside. Fearing that Rigoletto has returned, Gilda urges the Duke to leave. They swear undying love before Giovanna leads him out.

Alone, Gilda reflects on her lover’s name and swears to love him forever (“ Caro nome ”). Out in the street, however, Ceprano, Borsa, Marullo, and other courtiers, armed and masked, are spying on her. They are stunned by the beauty of the woman they believe to be Rigoletto’s lover. Meanwhile, Rigoletto blunders onto the scene. It is too dark for him to see who is there. Marullo identifies himself and tells him that they are planning to abduct Countess Ceprano for the Duke. To prove it, Marullo hands Rigoletto the key to Ceprano’s nearby palace. Rigoletto likes the plan and asks to be masked like the others. Marullo obliges—with a blindfold—and tells Rigoletto that he is to hold the ladder. The courtiers clamber up the ladder and into Rigoletto’s house. They drag Gilda screaming out of the house; she drops a scarf as they take her off. Rigoletto, still holding the ladder, at first enjoys the joke but then tears off the blindfold. Seeing Gilda’s scarf, he cries out, “Ah!

The curse!” Act II Srinivasa Ramanujan A drawing room in the Duke’s palace. The Duke, having discovered that Gilda has been taken, but not by whom, rails against her abductors and vows revenge (“ Ella mi fu rapita ”). Marullo and the others arrive with the news that Rigoletto’s mistress has been kidnapped. The Duke, amused, asks to hear how it was done; as they do so, he realizes that the abducted woman is Gilda. He is overjoyed to learn that they have brought her to his own palace, and he hurries off to see her. Meanwhile, Rigoletto shuffles in, singing of his grief. The courtiers pretend to feel sorry for him and ask him what is new. As he answers sarcastically, he looks around for clues about where Gilda might be. He finds a handkerchief, but it is not hers. When he asks about the Duke, they say that he is sleeping. Just then a page enters with a message from the Duchess. The courtiers firmly turn him away, first saying that the Duke is out hunting , then that he cannot see anyone right now.

Rigoletto realizes that Gilda is with the Duke. The courtiers mock him for losing his mistress, but he reveals that the young woman is actually his daughter. He tries to run into the other room, but they block him. He threatens them, but to no avail (“ Cortigiani ”). Then he begs for their pity, but they ignore him. Gilda rushes in, weeping for shame. Rigoletto orders the courtiers to leave. They do so, but they stay nearby to watch him. Gilda tells her father about how she saw a handsome young student at church and fell in love with him at first sight, how he suddenly appeared to declare his love, and how she was abducted soon after (“ Tutte le feste al tempio ”). Rigoletto consoles her and says they can leave after he does what he has to do. Monterone and his guards pass by—the aged man is being led to prison. He addresses the Duke’s portrait on the wall, saying that his curse was in vain. As Monterone leaves, Rigoletto swears that he will be avenged (“ Sì, vendetta ”).

He ignores Gilda’s pleas to forgive the Duke, for she loves him in spite of his betrayal. Act III Outside Sparafucile’s house, by the river. Rigoletto asks Gilda if she still loves the Duke; she replies that she will love him forever, because he loves her. To prove her wrong, Rigoletto leads her over to an opening in the wall of Sparafucile’s house and tells her to watch. She can see the Duke enter the room and ask Sparafucile for a room and some wine . The Duke sings of woman’s fickleness (“ La donna è mobile ”). At Sparafucile’s signal, his sister, Maddalena, comes downstairs. The Duke begins to flirt with her. Meanwhile, Sparafucile comes out of the house, draws Rigoletto aside, and asks if the Duke should live or die. Rigoletto says that he will come back later to discuss this. Sparafucile goes off behind the house.

Listen: Verdi, Giuseppe: excerpt from “Rigoletto” as performed by Caruso An excerpt from “ Bella figlia dell’amore ” from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera … From outside the house, Gilda and Rigoletto watch as the Duke pursues Maddalena. Gilda is in agony but cannot tear herself away, though Rigoletto keeps asking her whether she has had enough (Quartet: “ Bella figlia dell’amore ”). Rigoletto urges her to go home, change into the male clothing that he has prepared for her as a disguise, and flee to Verona ; he will join her tomorrow. After she leaves, Rigoletto fetches Sparafucile and pays him half the money for the murder . When Rigoletto says he will return at midnight, Sparafucile replies that it is unnecessary and offers to take care of throwing the body in the river. But Rigoletto insists on doing that himself. Sparafucile asks the victim’s name. Rigoletto replies as he leaves, “He is Crime, and I am Punishment.” A storm is brewing.

Sparafucile enters the house; the Duke and Maddalena are still flirting. Knowing the plan, she secretly urges the Duke to leave, but he refuses because of the storm. Sparafucile takes her aside and shows her the money. Then he invites the Duke to stay for the night. The Duke agrees and, lightly singing his “woman is fickle” tune, falls asleep. Maddalena has fallen for the Duke, but Sparafucile is focused on the money. Meanwhile, the storm is worsening. Gilda reappears outside the house, dressed as a man. She looks through the crack in the wall and overhears Maddalena trying to persuade her brother not to kill the Duke. She suggests that when Rigoletto returns with the rest of the money, they kill him instead. But Sparafucile replies that he is no thief. He suggests that if someone else comes to the house before Rigoletto’s return, that person can die in the Duke’s stead; the body of that man will then be delivered to the jester. Maddalena does not think anyone will be coming in such a storm. But this gives Gilda an idea.

Seeing Maddalena weep for the Duke makes Gilda determined to substitute her own life for his. At the height of the storm, she pounds on the door and cries out that she is a beggar in need of shelter. Sparafucile, thinking again of the money, gets his dagger ready. Maddalena opens the door, Gilda rushes in, and Sparafucile strikes as everything goes dark. The storm has abated. Rigoletto arrives, savouring the moment of vengeance. As midnight strikes, he knocks on the door. Sparafucile informs him that the deed is done and shows him a sack with a body in it, but the killer refuses to give Rigoletto a light by which he can identify the body until he is paid the rest of the money. Sparafucile suggests that they quickly throw the body in the water, but Rigoletto wants to do it himself. Sparafucile takes the money and bids him good night. Rigoletto is overjoyed at the success of his plan. He is about to roll the body into the water when he hears the Duke singing his theme song from inside the house.

He pounds on the door, but no one answers. Then he cuts open the sack to reveal his own daughter. She is barely alive. She admits her deceit but she says that she loved the Duke too much, and now she is dying for him. She begs Rigoletto’s forgiveness and promises to pray for him when she is in heaven with her mother. The grieving father begs her to hold on, but she fades away. Crying out, “Ah! The curse!” he falls over her lifeless body.

Question: From which opera does the aria "O Caro Nome" come?
Answer: RIGOLETTO